Documenting the seldom-seen world of child brides
Photographer Stephanie Sinclair is interviewed about her work documenting child brides — some as young as 5 — in Nepal, India, Yemen, Afghanistan, the U.S. and elsewhere. An estimated 50 million girls younger than 18 in developing countries were married, with 100 million more expected during the next 10 years, according to UNICEF.
Rural tradition promotes maternal care
Maternal health advocates say community-driven efforts to institutionalize the use of hammocks, called ayod, to transport pregnant women to medical facilities can help slash maternal mortality rates in rural Philippines where 70% of births take place at home. The ayod have been used by indigenous people for generations to help transport the elderly and infirm across mountainous areas to reach treatment centers.
UN calls on South Asia to enforce laws protecting women
Government officials in South Asia who fail to implement gender equality laws to improve the lives of the region’s women should be held accountable and punished for their inaction, the United Nations said on Thursday. From forced marriages in Afghanistan and “honour killings” in Pakistan to foeticide in India and trafficking in Nepal, South Asian women face a barrage of threats, say experts, and often seeking justice for crimes committed against them is a slow and painful process.
MDG poverty targets look achievable, but hunger remains
While the world is on track to end extreme poverty by 2015 in accordance with the Millennium Development Goals, progress is lagging on meeting the parallel goal of eradicating hunger. The United Nations reports that economic growth in the developing world is expected to pace a reduction in the global poverty rate to less than 15% by 2015 — easily meeting the MDG target of 23%. High food prices, however, combined with limited access to food, continue to hamper efforts to reduce global hunger, according to the world body.
Swift gains must be sustained to stamp out malaria
In less than a decade, Africa has begun to drag itself out from under the weight of malaria, a disease that has plagued the continent for millennia, as a result of international and regional efforts that have made prevention and treatment of the disease a global health priority. Access to diagnostics and treatment is still lagging, however, hampering the chances of meeting the targets of the Global Malaria Action Plan and Millennium Development Goals.
Eradicating slums, reviving children’s lives, in MoroccoIn Casablanca, Morocco, a children’s center — run by an association of youths who grew up in the Sidi Moumen slums they are serving — is trying to steer marginalized children off troubled paths that lead to dead-end lives.
Defects among newborns are linked to coal smoke
Malformations of the brain and spine are 60% higher among newborns whose mothers inhaled coal smoke, a study by researchers at Peking University has found. About 70% of households in China burn coal — which also can lead to lung and other respiratory diseases — or biomass fuels, such as wood, charcoal and dung.
Study examines deaths linked to poverty
Social factors linked to poverty contribute to death the same way as certain behaviors such as smoking, according to a study in the American Journal of Public Health. Researchers examined the effects of six social factors including income level, limited education level and social support. Individual poverty caused 133,000 deaths in the year 2000, while 156,000 die annually from lung cancer, researchers reported.
Vaccine program is worthy of U.S. funding despite cutbacks
U.S. lawmakers should allocate $450 million over the next three years to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations even though major cuts in spending are on the horizon. The GAVI vaccine and immunization program — which could save 4 million children by 2015 — has a “solid, accountable track record of results.”
Nigeria’s polio battle is hampered by vaccination refusals
Nigerian efforts to eradicate polio by the end of 2011 are unlikely to succeed as some communities continue to refuse to participate in vaccination programs. Vaccination teams have not fully reported incidences of refusal, according to this report from immunization campaign observer Winifred Ogbebo.
